BOT keeps key interest rate unchanged at 2%, TISI increases in 7 months

BANGKOK, June 18 (TNA) - The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has maintained its key interest rate at 2 per cent, while the Thai Industries Sentiment Index (TISI) increased for the first time in seven months in May 2014. The BOT's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously, at its meeting on Wednesday, to keep the central bank's one-day repurchase rate intact. The MPC reasoned that the decision, the same at its previous meeting, is aimed to support the recovering national economy, after the end of the six-month domestic political turbulence by a coup staged by the army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) on May 22, 2014. Meanwhile, the Thai Industries Sentiment Index (TISI) showed its first rise in seven months last month. Suphan Mongkolsuthee, Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), told journalists that the TISI stood at 85.1 in May 2014, compared with 84.0 in April, as local business operators saw positive signs in the Thai economy, along with the alleviation of domestic political problems. The TISI is based on purchase orders, sales, production and operating results in Thai industries. The FTI also predicted that the Thai economy should now grow by over 2.5 per cent, or nearly 3 per cent, this year. Earlier, the FTI projected that the Thai economy could shrink by 1 per cent in 2014. Meanwhile, Mitsuji Konoshita, Executive of Group Lease Public Company Limited, pointed out that the NCPO's economic stimulus measures, including payment for pledged rice to farmers, are supporting the national economy from the grass roots. (TNA)